Sustainable Housing and Green Building News - ENN

Why the best world-changing ideas begin in your neighbourhood

John-Paul Flintoff — Tue, 22 May 2012 09:31:00 EST

Your ideas for changing the world may be desperately important. But if you can't find a way to engage the interests of the people around you they may never take off, argues John-Paul Flintoff. The environmental movement has often been guilty of making people despondent, either by talking about 'problems' in a way that makes listeners feel powerless, or by presenting solutions as miserable duties. It needn't be that way. Instead, we could try to make doing the right thing appealing, rather than merely necessary - and one way to do that is to offer people a chance to say hello to their neighbours.

Charcoal for African Cookstoves, What's the Story?

Jen Boynton — Mon, 21 May 2012 07:10:00 EST

You may have seen pictures of women in Africa cooking their daily meals on a small cookstove. These cooking implements look remarkably similar to the portable charcoal grills an American family might bring to the beach for an afternoon of grilling hot dogs and hamburgers. Imagine using one of these at your kitchen table to prepare nearly every meal of your life. In Mozambique (a coastal nation in Southwest Africa, just north of South Africa), the average lifespan is 47 years, the average income is $1 per day – minimum wage is a little more than double that, but high unemployment cuts the average in half. Charcoal is the cooking element of choice. Among market shoppers and sellers we met, charcoal was deemed to be the best cooking option because it is easily available and "not dangerous."

Wind, Solar...Coconuts: Small Island Developing States Commit to Renewable, Sustainable Energy for All

Andrew Burger — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:20:00 EST

Typically heavily reliant on the cost of high and volatile diesel and fossil fuel imports, small island developing states are also on the front line when it comes to having to cope with climate change. Now they're realizing there's a lot in the way of cleaner, more efficient and less costly power and fuel resources right at home. They're increasingly, if belatedly, establishing ambitious renewable energy programs and setting aggressive targets to employ local renewable energy resources to reduce CO2 and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, working with a range of international development agencies, public and private sector partners domestic and foreign, in doing so.

Solar Power and Desalinization Innovations tested in Egypt

Rehab Abd Almohsen — Sat, 12 May 2012 07:06:00 EST

The Egyptian Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT) has announced the launch of a pilot Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) project to test units that can simultaneously produce electricity and desalinate water. The four-year project test project, known as "Multi-Purpose Applications by Thermodynamic Solar", or MATS, has received 22 million Euros (US$28 million) from the European Union under its Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), and will also involve European universities and companies. This will be used to build and test MATS units at a site in Burj Al Arab, a desert area near Alexandria. The units can be powered using both solar energy, and renewable energy sources such as biomass and biogas. The test facility will aim to generate one megawatt of electrical power and 250 cubic metres of desalinated water per day.

Highlights of Cleantech in Dubai

Shawn Lesser — Fri, 11 May 2012 06:10:00 EST

The United Arab Emirates, much like some of the other countries throughout the Middle East, is doing what it can to ensure it becomes much more energy efficient and starts using more renewable sources of energy. Dubai, much like its neighbor Abu Dhabi, is doing what it can to ensure the entire state becomes much more clean technology friendly. This includes adopting initiatives, creating organizations dedicated to renewable energy and energy efficiency, and creating new project to help the state reach its renewable energy and energy efficient goals. Listed below are just ten of the highlights of clean technology in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 1 ) Dubai Targets Five Percent Renewable Energy by 2030. A majority of the existing power supply in Dubai comes from natural gas and the energy demands in the state have increased over the last ten years because of megaprojects as well as a growth in high-rise buildings. In 2010, officials announced new power types to diversity energy sources in Dubai. One of the latest plans is to have five percent of the power supply come from renewable sources of energy by the year 2030. This will help the United Arab Emirates’ overall goal when it comes to renewable energy use.

Microsoft Moving Towards Carbon Neutrality

Leon Kaye — Wed, 09 May 2012 08:50:00 EST

Microsoft has committed to become carbon neutral beginning on July 1, the start of the company's new fiscal year. The shift results from three years of internal discussions within the company to improve Microsoft's carbon footprint and environmental performance. The company will roll out the new changes, including a new accounting system, across its operations in over 100 countries. The new accounting system at Microsoft will be based on an internal carbon fee that the company's finance department will charge to all of the company's business groups. Each division will be tasked with finding a more efficient way to offset the carbon emissions associated with their fuel consumption and air travel.

Getting Instant Cash...Off the Grid

David A Gabel, ENN — Tue, 08 May 2012 09:14:00 EST

Many of us in the West take for granted our state-of-the-art banking systems, which make it very easy to deposit and withdraw cash. Every little town has a bank, and in the city there is practically one around the corner. Unfortunately, not every country has such luxury. In India, for example, personal banking requires travelling to the nearest branch, often in far-away cities, requiring nearly a full day to do so. However, thanks to an innovation in ATM technology, all this is going to change. Vortex Engineering, a start-up sponsored by Chennai's Indian Institute of Technology, has created an energy-efficient solar power ATM machine. This will bring the ability to do banking to even the most remote Indian Village.